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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. lean — to bend
  3. degree — temperature
  4. saw — the tool
  5. vault — a safe
  6. mine — for digging
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. lean — thin
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. degree — an amount
  11. game — a match
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. degree — from a university
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. saw — the tool
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — for betting
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. game — wild animals
  23. chip — to eat
  24. vault — in gymnastics

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com